Parkour Gloves

In this article we are going to be talking about gloves made for parkour. In recent years there has been a fierce debate of whether or not these kinds of gloves should be used, so we will be discussing some of the reasons you should consider buying a pair of these gloves. Hopefully we can help you decide if they are what you need, and after that we will be looking at one of the most popular pairs of gloves currently available. If you want you can click here to go straight to the product section where we take a look at the recommended gloves. Otherwise let’s start off by talking about some reasons people choose to wear them.

What are the advantages of using gloves?

Even though most of the more experienced parkour guys will swear against them, there are several reasons why you should consider using gloves. For those of you just starting out with parkour, it will take a while for your hands to become “conditioned”. This basically means your hands need to toughen up, and get used to the motions of gripping and taking strain on jagged materials such as brick, rocks and concrete. This can be quite a difficult process, since you will often end up with sore and bloody hands if you are serious about training. Gloves give you a bit of cushioning while you are getting accustomed to the motions and strain of such exercises, and they help to prevent excessive damage to your hands.
Another reason people consider gloves is due to injuries. If you happen to cut open your hand, then you may think that you can’t do much until it is fully healed. With gloves, you can carry on as normal, provided the injury isn’t on a section of your hand which the glove can’t protect. The gloves help to provide the necessary protection while you are healing, and allow you to get back in action.

Something else they are used for is to aid in harsh weather conditions. Obviously we would all love to train year round, but in some areas this is all but impossible in the cold winter months. Training when your fingers is frozen is almost impossible, and potentially dangerous if you can’t feel what you are gripping. Some parkour gloves will give you a bit of warmth, and could help you to get some training done in the colder weather.
One last consideration for obtaining gloves is for people who have skin conditions, like eczema. These types of gloves will prevent further inflammation and damage to the skin. This allows people with these types of conditions to go out and enjoy parkour just like anybody else!

Now you may be thinking that gloves sound like the idea answer to your problems, but they do have some disadvantages. They are not a full substitute for the grip you can get from your bare hands, although they do provide quite a good alternative. We wouldn’t recommend you use them full time, although if you have skin conditions (as mentioned above) then you won’t have much choice. These types of gloves are ideal if you are getting started in parkour, as they will help your hands to get accustomed to the harsh conditioning exercises. At the end of the day, parkour is about being able to adapt to your environment, so getting padded up isn’t really doing that. Once you have had a fair amount of practice in gloves, then we would recommend you switch over to using your bare hands as those will provide the best grip in any circumstance.
Otherwise if the weather is getting colder, then a pair of gloves will help you keep going until the days become a little warmer.
Remember there is nothing wrong with using gloves, and if you feel more comfortable and confident using them, then you should continue to do so. Parkour is about freedom, and you should be free to do it in whatever style you want to.
Now lets have a look at some of the best gloves you can get.

Recommended gloves – Precisions Parkour Gloves

When it comes to gloves, there aren’t really any specially made ones except for the Precision Gloves. These are purposely made for parkour, and are designed to be thin enough to provide grip, while at the same time giving protection to your hands. They are made out of breathable material so your hands don’t get sticky, while still retaining enough stickiness to give you a firm and safe grip. The index and middle fingers are fully protected, as these fingers fingers tend to take the most beatings. Your ring finger, little finger and thumb are left exposed to give you that extra bit of dexterity. These come in three sizes of small, medium and large. With a retail price of under $40, these provide good protection at a reasonable price. You can find more info on the these gloves and read some of the user reviews over on the Amazon product page.